Deane Smart proclaimed that Greta has “indoctrinated the youth and others with the belief that climate catastrophes will threaten our very existence (Times 17 August). Rather than accusing her of being “wrong…again”, we would benefit from listening to her: “Some people say that I should study to become a climate scientist so that I can solve the climate crisis. But the climate crisis has already been solved. We already have all the facts and solutions. All we have to do is to wake up and change.” It might seem too late to wake up and change from boomer perspectives, but it’s not too late for our youth to force us into change to save future generations. Unsurprisingly, deaths from climate catastrophes have dramatically decreased over the last 100 years. Dr. Hannah Ritchie from OurWorldinData.com says, “Behind this improvement has been the improvement in living standards; access to and development of resilient infrastructure; and effective response systems.” Numbers may be facts, but to avoid “blindly accepting the ideology that is fed to us”, we must take the time to understand the context and what the numbers really mean. As Greta famously said, “I don’t want you to listen to me, I want you to listen to the scientists”.
Jon & Yoshimi Brett Howick Beacy/Waipaparoa
